The Project
by Hazelsd
Summary: A school project reveals something about the Pevensie children nobody ever expected. (sorry I suck at summaries)
1. Chapter 1

Peter stared out of the window, half listening to his teacher drone on about the 'Project' they would be working on for the rest of the year.

'_Something to do with medieval re-enactment, who knew what the hell, was going through Mr Johnson's brain when the thought of this idea, but at least it meant no school work for the next 6 months.'_ This sudden thought made Peter sit up and listen more closely to Mr Johnson's words. If it meant missing school, not paying attention now may mean a forfeit later.

"You will all be assigned a role which you must act out during the rest of the year. I will be picking these roles so you must deal with whatever role you are assigned and no you cannot change them Mr Kilpatric my decision is final. I have chosen these roles as I think that you are all capable of performing the duties which they require." Mr Johnson stared pointedly at Jack who glowered in return at the teacher's decision. "So without further ado gentlemen make an orderly queue and I will give you this pack which states your role and the duties you are required to perform throughout the next few months."

Peter stood slowly to avoid the rush of bodies mowing to the front and joined the queue of eager but nervous boys waiting to find out their role. It was a long process, Mr Johnson had to first find each child's pack and then mark their names off a list to ensure each child had received the correct role.

Of course there were a few boys who started to argue with Mr Johnson about the role, but he quieted them quickly with a threat or something to that effect. Others shouted with joy at their apparently 'Perfect roles', running to find their friends and enquire what role each person had.

A few just looked resigned to their fate, probably thinking it could have been much worse. Peter was getting a little nervous now, he was anxious to learn his role but also did not want a role that beneath him.

_'For goodness sake I'm a High King if I end up as a labourer of sorts I'll argue my case until the role is changed. Despite Mr Johnson's proclamation of sorts, I'm sure I could convince the man otherwise. If I can get out of a training session with Oreius, one of the most stubborn centaurs or people I know.' _Peter thought with a rueful smile thinking of his four legged General.

Finally it was Peter's turn, Mr Johnson handed him the pack with a strange smile on his face. Peter was not sure what this smile meant it looked good but one could never be sure, he knew the most unsuspecting people like Mr Johnson could be great actors.

Peter however simply smiled back at the man and turned away. It was odd, his pack was one of the thickest by far. He walked back to his desk, before opening the envelope that held his fate. Peter laughed out loud when he read the first page of the pack. He controlled himself quickly as he saw some of his friends giving him questioning looks. From a quick look Peter knew nothing in this pack would be necessary after all he was already a King, and a High King at that, nothing in this pack would tell him anything he didn't know but he supposed it would be necessary to look through it just to make sure he did not slip up by performing a duty that he should not even know was necessary.

Peter saw his friend Tom come over with a smile plastered over his face. "Guess what Peter, I'm a General of the Army, what are you?" Tom bounced over, peering to look at Peter's sheet. The look on his face almost caused Peter to laugh again.

"Something wrong Tom?" Peter said trying to hide a smirk. His friend had gone white, and now a smile was slowly forming on his face as he processed Peter's role.

"How... Well I'm not surprised... at least neither Jack nor Matt got it. I think I we would have to commit treason and kill them if they had... Hang on a minute mate... Does this mean I have to address you as 'Your Majesty' now?" Tom muttered to himself before coming to the conclusion and shouted the last question at Peter. Tom stared intently at Peter as if he knew the answers to every question.

Peter just laughed at his friends questions. Tom looked a little embarrassed when he saw that everyone had turned to stare at the pair.

"Hang on, what role did you get Pevensie?" One of the muscled jock types in Peter's class said in the silence. Peter remembered his name was Matt, one of the boys Tom had mentioned.

"Mr Pevensie is the King, Mr Dolton" said Mr Johnson, his tone held no space for disagreement. The class turned to stare at Peter, and the jock types all glared at him and Mr Johnson, fists clenched and muscled tensed.

Peter thought '_If looks could kill I would definitely be dead at this moment in time.' _

'Brrring' The bell suddenly rang startling everyone, and Mr Johnson called out "Boys I want you to study those packs over the weekend and pack your belongings, because we are leaving to start this Project on Monday morning, so come to the driveway at 7 am sharp with your trunks so we can board the buses and leave as early as possible. Which reminds me another class from this school, and two classes from St. Helena's school for girls are also joining us on this trip. So I want you to all be on your best behaviour boys, and I will know as a selection of teachers will be accompanying you on this trip to keep an eye on you myself included." With a final glare to punctuate his point, he swept out the room, leaving a hastily packing up group of children eager to leave the room.

Peter quickly followed suit and packed his books and remembered to stuff the pack into his bag before leaving. As he left he was cornered by Matt and Jack.

"You think you're so good because you got to be 'King' huh Pevensie. Well we're gonna make you regret being such a goody too shoes." Jack said getting right into Peter's face before stalking off with Matt.

Peter just stood there for a moment, before a smirk crossed his face. '_If only they knew'_ Peter thought, '_If only they knew. Then they wouldn't dare say anything against him or his family.'_ He noticed Tom was standing next to him looking pale faced, and confused at Peter's smirk which only grew wider when he saw his friends face.


	2. Chapter 2

By Saturday afternoon Peter had packed his bags leaving only necessities for the weekend out. He spent the rest of the afternoon reading the pack Mr Johnson had given him. Peter laughed at some of the ridiculous notes the teacher had made. He sat on his bed leaving the pack next to him as the thought about how he was going to play this role but not reveal his secret.

_'Obviously this teacher has no idea what he's talking about, but I can tell he's tried he just has no idea of what a King actually does. I mean what King sits and lets his advisor's do all the work. I mean I've seen some pretty stupid and ignorant King's in my time, but all of them were involved in the decision process. It just so happened they didn't let anyone talk sense into them.' _Peter cocked his head trying to remember why that statement sounded so familiar.

_'Ahh that reminds me of Prince Rabadash, now I know he wasn't a King well not at that point, but his decision to take Narnia and Archenland head on was colossally stupid. Well he may have had Archenland briefly, but he would have never taken Narnia. I would not let my people suffer again, not after what Jadis had done to Narnia, my people don't deserve that. Jadis, or the White Bitch as Ed likes to call her, (and that's not often as he generally refuses to talk about 'Her' not that I blame him though, who would...) was cruel like Rabadash they even had similar flaws. They doubted people had the strength or will to fight back against them. That was their downfall in the end, all's well that ends I suppose...'_

Peter sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. A something moving caught his eye, and he turned just to see the pack falling off the edge of the bed where he had left it. As it fell Peter wondered how to approach this project without revealing too much.

_ I mean it's not like I'm supposed to understand how to rule a country or to deal with court issues. Well that's if I was normal I suppose... But to be honest what is normal anyway? If I asked any of my siblings now they would say it was life in Narnia but before they would have said life in England was the normal way. It would appear time changes us all... but to the matter in hand, I guess I'll just have to say I read a book about it over the holidays or something... Seriously I should be able to think of something better than that, maybe Ed would know, I think his class is the one Mr Johnson mentioned earlier. He was not called the 'Silver tongue' for nothing, I seriously wonder what we would have done if he was still a brat at times... _

Peter sat for a moment as memories of Ed being an idiot washed over him. The warning bell for dinner rang he jumped at the sound, checking the time on the alarm clock beside his bed.

_By the Lion, how did the time pass that quickly I swear I finished packing at 2 pm it's almost 7 pm now. Ahh I was going to find Ed so we could ring the girls, I guess it'll have to wait until tomorrow now. _

Peter stood up quickly and washed up, knowing if he didn't leave soon all he would have for dinner was the burnt mess the cook called 'The Leftovers'. Nobody knew what was in that particular dish, because they saw no recognisable leftovers... All they knew was it was to be avoided at all cost if it could be helped. There were a few different edible options for dinner but they went quickly when there were that many hungry growing teenage boys in one place. Many soon learned to get to dinner quickly before people could go for seconds and avoid the potentially lethal 'Leftovers'.

As he walked to dinner he saw the familiar pale face of his brother. A smile crossed his face, when he saw Ed's obviously he had good news, that look was too familiar for it to be anything else. Ed saw him waved and nodded to the dinner hall mouthing _"Talk after we get food" _Peter nodded in return, before he lost sight of his brother in the wave of hungry chattering students bottlenecking at the Dining room doors.

It would seem Peter was lucky today as he managed to grab some edible food, he smiled as he saw the untouched tray of 'Leftover', then walked away quickly swearing the 'food' had moved slightly on the plate. He spied his brother sitting on one of the smaller side tables waiting for him with two glasses and a plate of food in front of him.

Many of the other students had found it odd that Peter willingly sat with his little brother. It was just not done, younger siblings were embarrassing and generally annoying most of the time. So they were to be avoided unless you're parents were present, and then you would get on like a house on fire. Before Narnia, Peter would have agreed with them, but after going through so much with his siblings Peter was almost like a father to them and almost felt physical pain if he didn't see them that often.

"Hey Peter, I got you a drink already" Ed said as Peter reached the table and sat down his brother. "Where were you earlier? I thought we were going to phone the girls, seeing as we can only call them at stupid times because their teachers are way too strict." Ed frowned as he said this staring at Peter intently as if he had been doing something he shouldn't have been.

"Thanks for the drink and I'm sorry Ed, but you know how I have this stupid project thing coming up?" Peter paused waiting for his brother to nod in the affirmative. "Well I finished packing earlier and started reading the pack our teacher had given us about a role we have to play doing the project to waste some time before coming to meet you. However I got distracted and I literally don't know how I spent that long thinking about things" Peter looked apologetically at his brother before picking a little at his dinner before it got cold.

"Ahh I thought as much, but speaking about that project of yours I have some news." Ed ate a mouthful before continuing. "I presume your teacher may have mentioned that some other classes were joining yours for this." Peter nodded and motioned for Ed to continue, he wanted to know where was going with this. "Well it would appear my class will be joining yours for the project but we don't have roles we just have to shadow someone we know well. Please say you have a good role Peter... And before you say it I'm not going to guess..."

Peter was not expecting those words to come from his brother, but after he processed them and saw Ed's slightly scared looking face as he waited, a fork poised halfway to his mouth, he laughed out loud.

_'Ahh I was going to tease the poor boy a bit, but with a face like that I'd feel bad, then again he deserves it for not telling me earlier that he was coming' _Peter thought as he laughed. Ed's face transformed into a frown as Peter laughed making him laugh harder.

"Peter please, don't be mean seriously we're Kings I'm not going to pull weeds in gardens for six months..."Ed said giving his brother a glare.

"Seriously you think I'd be a gardener I'm offended but you've mentioned my role already, just think Ed" Peter smiled mischievously before looking intently at his plate and trying not to laugh at his brother face.

"Peter I didn't say any other role only that we were Kings..." Peter looked up as Ed paused and could almost hear his brother thinking. "Hang on does that mean what I think it means?" Ed looked up and saw Peter's toothy grin. Peter saw the smile on Ed's face grow as well as he sat there in silence, his brother did not ask any other questions, but the smile did not leave either of their faces for the rest of the evening.

As they ate Peter thought ruefully _'Maybe this project won't be as boring as I thought not that Ed's coming if either of us slips us we can help each other out, plus the fact that Ed is ridiculously good at avoiding awkward questions'. _


	3. Chapter 3

Peter stepped out into the courtyard, and was almost knocked over by a boy running past, muttering something about forgetting to pack his socks. Peter shook his head as a smile formed on his face, despite the pouring rain and gained a few odd looks from his classmates. He sensed a presence behind him, but before he could turn someone jumped onto his back. Peter stumbled forward slightly in shock and with the weight. Peter knew who had jumped on him, it was a trait he had picked up in Narnia and had carried it on ever since.

"Ugh, why do we have to get up this early..." Ed groaned in Peter's ear. His brother's arms were slung around his neck as hung down Peter's back obviously too tired to stand up properly.

"Well do you want 6 months of school work or one early morning" Peter said simply as he shrugged Ed off his back. Ed grumbled slightly at Peter's comment but gave no further complaint.

'_Ugh... I wish Ed would grow out of that habit he wasn't as light as he used to be... it's typical as soon as anything interesting happens here it starts to pour down with rain. Take school holidays for example, gloriously sunny when we're stuck in class rooms but as soon as we're let loose for the summer it rains...' _Peter was jogged out of his thoughts as Ed waved a hand in front of his face.

"Peter you there?" Ed said and continued waving his hand until Peter batted it out the way and glared at his little brother.

_'He's defiantly better than he used to be, but sometimes Ed can still be an insufferable prat. There was one time when he drew a moustache and glasses on my face when I was having a nap before I went to talk to some the court. I didn't even notice until I saw half the court trying not to laugh and saw my reflection in a window. I swore by the lion I would get him back for that, and I did too. We almost started a prank war until Susan knocked our heads together for being so stupid. Lucy just sat there laughing her head off, it wasn't until Ed turned around and I saw the 'Kick Me' sign stuck to his back I realised what Susan had done to the both of us... Never again did we prank each other after that, although we did have a few good moments with Prince Corrin, now that was funny especially after we dyed part of his hair blue, it had been Lucy's idea, we never realised how devilish our little sister could be until that day. He was complaining about it for weeks, it washed out after a day or so but it didn't stop him from badgering Lucy on how it worked. No doubt to try it himself on his twin brother Cor...'_

"Peter snap out of it... We need to put the cases on the bus" Peter jumped after Ed pinched him gently to get his attention. "What were you even thinking about you had this creepy smile on your face" Ed teased before waltzing over to the coach and shoving the case into the rather full hold at the bottom of the coach.

"Sorry Ed I was just thinking about the prank war we almost had and Corrin's blue hair. Besides my smile is not creepy that's just you." Peter caught up with his brother and stuck his tongue out childishly at him as he finished.

"Ahh I remember that, good times" Ed smiled wistfully before smirking "Oh and Peter how do you know your smile wasn't creepy do you practice in front of the mirror" Ed ducked to avoid the playful punch Peter had aimed at his head.

"Yes Ed I stare at myself and wonder how I got all the good looks compared to you" Peter joked and they waited in the covered corridors of the courtyard to avoid the worst of the rain.

Once all the cases were in the hold, the children were herded onto the coach. Peter yawned as he waited for his and Ed's names to be called so they could get on. They swapped insults and jokes as they waited.

Eventually their names were called and they all but ran to avoid being soaked from the relentless rain. Finding a pair of seats was easy and they quickly ducked into them stowing their smaller travelling bags under the seats in front of them. It was not long until the bus was filled with slightly damp chattering boys. A few rubber bands and paper air planes were already flying about towards the back of the coach. Peter watched Ed as he had to duck quickly before one such plane took one of his eyes out.

"Boys!" A shout quietened the chatter instantly and all projectiles were left to fall to the ground quietly or were lowered quickly to be hidden in the seat pockets. All eyes were instead on the red faced Mr Johnson. "I would like to remind you of what will happen if I feel that your behaviour is unacceptable during this trip. You will remain at the place where we are staying, but Mr Gooding has kindly offered to continue your original studies for the remainder of the project. Plus you will receive extra work which includes writing a statement to explain why you had to be removed from the project and also an apology to your classmates for your unacceptable behaviour. You have been warned so I do hope that no such situation will occur. I would also like to remind you of the fact that two classes from the girls school St Helena's will also be joining us, so I hope you can remember you manners and not act like the buffoon's you are in their presence." With that final statement the teacher sat down leaving a murmuring crowd behind him. The bus rumbled into life startling some of the students, as the bus lurched forwards leaving the red brick of the school behind them with only hedges, fields and trees as their only view.

"Did he just say St. Helena's Peter?" Ed had turned with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Yeah he mentioned it to us on Friday as well why?" Peter shuffled around in his seat trying to get comfortable.

_'Stupid seats why they are always so uncomfortable I will never know. All I want it to catch up on the sleep I missed this morning but Ed seems to know something. Ahh which reminds me we never did ring Susan and Lucy yesterday or on Saturday. By the lion I knew I forgot to do something before we left, now we probably won't get a chance to speak to them before its time to go home. Letters are alright but I'm not sure we'll be able to send those either. That stupid man never told us where we're going either just that it wasn't near school...' _

Peter frowned but as he opened his mouth to tell Ed of his revelation, Ed cut in "Peter that's the school Su and Lucy go to St. Helena's its run by nuns or something. You know in their last letter they said they had some new for us but we never did ring them over the weekend to find out what it was. They must be part of the classes that are coming from their school, or at least one of them is."

Peter's eyes widened _'Nothing gets passed him sometimes, I would say he's too clever for his own good but I know that it has saved us much bloodshed and pain in the past. But that's a thought and a half, if he's right then it doesn't really matter if we spoke with them yesterday or not but that's only if he's right they may have had other news, ahh I wish we had called them to know outright and have to wait like this.'_

"You might be right Ed but we can't be sure until we see the classes for all we know it may have been something else, I doubt it now you've mentioned it but let's not hope too much and get depressed about it." Peter told Ed who nodded understanding Peter's words of caution a thoughtful expression covering his face.

"Well seeing as all we can do it sit and wait for now, I'm going to catch up on my missed sleep" Ed joked before yawning again. Peter looked around the coach from his seat noticing around half of the students we're already asleep or dosing quietly against the window.

"Yes well we all know how you need your beauty sleep Ed, I don't know how you survive with a face like that" Peter teased earning a hard jab in the ribs for his trouble. He chuckled at his brother's disgruntled face, before smoothing the jet black hair out of his brother's eyes.

"Just go to sleep Peter, you're not looking too_ Magnificent _yourself at the moment" Ed grumbled before curling up in the seat. Peter stared at his brother as the breaths came slower and deeper, a soft smile was etched upon Peter's face before he in turn curled up best as he could and began to doze off too...

'BANG' A loud noise jolted Peter and Edmund awake, both instantly awake, whereas others sat up slowly rubbing sleep out of their eyes.

"Sorry Gentlemen but there seem to be some mechanical issues with the bus so we won't be moving for a little while. So if you could all please step off and wait outside, I'm sure you all need to stretch your legs." A voice called up the bus and a teacher began to herd half asleep children off the bus onto the grass verge on the side of the road.

"Well this is a great start" Ed said sarcastically, before stomping off the bus earning a few disgruntled looks from other students.

_'Aslan help us, I forgot how bad Ed is when he's woken up for no reason. Now he's going to be crabby all day and nothing will cheer him up, well nothing that's available at the moment for sure. I guess I'm just going to have to talk him out of it, like it will do much but it'll make him easier to deal with at any rate. When he's like this he tends to forget he's not a King here and ends up arguing with teachers, as they assume he's a child who doesn't know anything so he proceeds to lecture them on respecting their betters. Last time it happened it was when we were getting off the train Ed had just woken up and there was a teacher who told him off for 'not paying attention', I almost had to drag Ed away before he punched the man. Ahh that was an interesting experience trying to explain it...'_

Peter trooped after his brother and slumped onto the curb, noting the wet grass still damp from the earlier deluge. There were raised voices at the rear of the coach where the engine door was open and the teachers and bus driver were waving their arms with their sleeves rolled up. It looked like they would be here for a while before anything was fixed.

_'I could almost laugh at this situation if not for my cranky brother and the oh so glorious great British weather... please note heavy sarcasm... ugh I have a feeling this is only the beginning of a whole series of problems this so called project is going throw our way. I guess I'll just have to deal with them as they come and make sure Ed doesn't act too rashly, I hope Su and Lucy are coming as well it will make this whole trip easier and happier for all of us...' _

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**Hey guys I just wanted to thanks you for all the great reviews as well as for reading I'm glad you like it :)**

**The next chapter should be up soon but don't hold me to that, **

**Thanks again, Hazelsd**


	4. Chapter 4

_'There is nothing that would make this morning any worse... Seriously I mean firstly we have to get up at the crack of dawn to leave. Secondly it's chucking it down. Thirdly the stupid bus had broken down, so much for technology eh? And lastly we now have to walk to the nearest sign of civilisation so we can meet up with the other school which has enough room for us on their coaches. So all in all one of the worst days of my life... Ugh not to mention Ed's being an idiot because he got woken up too early, combined with the fact it's raining and we have to carry our luggage, he's going to moan the whole way and I'm gonna have to listen to it...'_

"Peter what was the point of going on this stupid trip, it has no relevance to life here so why tell me why we have to go through all of this because some stupid teacher thought it would be fun. By the lion if I had a sword I'd ram..." Ed grumbled until Peter cuffed him over the head with his free hand effectively shutting him up.

_'If he opens his mouth once more to complain I swear I will kill him myself. I hope Lucy at least is only that coach from the other school because she is the only one who knows how to get Ed to behave like a human being again when he's been like this. Otherwise he'll be like this for days... I remember in Narnia it happened once when we were returning from a battle and something woke him up too early, it was raining then too. It would have been funny except he stayed in the same mood for the next three days until we returned to Cair Paravel and Lucy said something in his ear and when she finished he was perfectly fine and burst out laughing like he hadn't been snapping at almost everyone in sight of him. Nobody knows what she said to him but we avoid waking him up unless Lucy's nearby, to deal with him. Ugh I'll just have to keep an eye on him until he snaps out of it or if we find Lucy, I don't him to say anything especially to a teacher, Aslan knows what would happen then...' _

"Seriously Peter what is the point though..." Ed looked at him with a frown etched across his face, the dark hair plastered to his forehead.

"The point is we have no school work for 6 months, so one day of bad weather won't kill us now will it? Now if you could please shut up, I know the weather is bad and I'm tired as well so I don't really want to have to deal with your moaning either, besides the girls might be on the other school coaches, so the quicker we walk the sooner we'll be out of the rain and you can go back to sleep..." Peter said turning and striding forward hefting the trunk behind him.

"Gee thanks Peter that makes me feel so much better..." Ed said sarcastically, but shut up after Peter sent him a withering look.

_'Finally some peace and quiet I swear if Ed knew how bad he was, he wouldn't open his mouth in the first place. I do understand where he's coming from though, they did manage to pick the 'perfect' day for the coach to break down... I hope this place isn't too far away though I don't know how much longer I can take of this myself...'_

As soon as Peter finished this thought a shout from the front of the group caught his attention.

"Ahh I can see the coaches now boys, step lively now lads, don't mind this little shower you'll be out of it soon" Mr Gooding called, most of the boys cheered, Peter noticed Ed's face with had brightened a little but had formed into a sneer at the teachers later comments. He could almost see his brother's thoughts, as if they were written on his face.

_'Ahh the stupid teacher had to make a comment like that now I'll have to make sure Ed doesn't injure him or say something stupid. I can almost hear the death threats and sarcastic comments, probably something along the lines of 'Little Shower, Little Shower, of course you don't mind the rain at all with your massive umbrella and rain coat, now how about I shove that umbrella somewhere the sun don't shine and then you'll know how I feel about the rain...' Yep defiantly need to keep Ed away from Mr Gooding. However thankfully we're near the other coaches hopefully I'll dry off before we get to wherever we're going, I really don't want to be ill before this project has even started, besides who'll keep Ed in check if I am? I mean it's great that we're kings and all again but it's not like we can act like the Kings we are right off the bat. 'Normal' school children wouldn't know how to act like a king well not properly at any rate... We have to keep a low profile at first and then by the end of it we can act as normal, well normal for us as then it just looks like we're really fast learners. However it's not going to be easy I know that at any rate but we'll have to do it to avoid any suspicion it's not like we can talk about Narnia in public without people telling us that we need to grow up, or to stop imagining things, because in 'reality' talking animals and centaurs don't exist...' _

"Finally... I want to go back to sleep I hate being woken up too early..." Ed sighed, Peter stared at him with a smile playing at his lips due to his brother's truthful words.

The train of children sped up, moods brightening instantly with the sight of the coaches in the distance. Peter's own pace picked up, wanting to be out of the rain like every other student there.

As they reached the coaches he saw a teacher in a tweed skirt standing by the doors of the bus with a large black umbrella shielding her from the rain.

"Ahh the students from Hardwick School I presume?" She had a very soft voice but it carried across the crowd hushing them as they agreed loudly with her. "My name is Ms. Jackson, if fifteen students could come here please and the rest go to the other bus we'll get you on and out of the rain soon enough" She waited with a brow raised that posed no room for argument, before turning back into the dry bus.

"Thanks you Ms. Jackson, now you fifteen over there with Mr Gooding, and rest with me please." Mr Johnson gestured to Peter, Ed and another small group of students before turning away like Ms. Jackson. "Hurry up now boys, none of us want to stand in this rain any longer than necessary."

Peter and Ed followed Mr Gooding and quickly stored their trunks in the hold, before stepping into the bus. It was mercifully dry and warm in the bus, Peter's mood improved greatly but it was the sight of two familiar heads that made a smile grow widely on his face.

"Well, well, well look what the cat dragged in..." Su chuckled staring at her two dripping brothers. They stood up to pull their brothers into hugs before Susan sat back in her seat and Lucy in the seat in front.

"Ha ha very funny Su but you didn't have to walk in the rain or deal with a grumpy Ed, which reminds me Lucy can you talk to our dear brother before I do something I'll regret please..." Peter sighed slumping down next to Su leaving space for Ed to sit next to Lucy.

"Hello to you to dear brother of mine..." Lucy leaned round the seat to glare playfully at Peter, who smiled apologetically at her. "Now what's up with you grumpy pants..." Peter chuckled as Lucy turned to talk to Edmund.

"I really need to get her to teach me how to do that..." Peter grumbled pulling off his wet jacket and shook his head like a dog. Susan cringed slightly as some water was flicked in her face.

"Eww... Peter that's disgusting... besides was Ed even that bad?" Susan pulled out a handkerchief to dry herself off before handing it to Peter.

"Thanks and sorry about that Su but it's hard to not be sopping wet in weather like this..." Su chuckled ruefully at Peter's comment. "And yes he was that bad, firstly he was woken up early, then when he went back to sleep he got woken up again before we had to walk in the rain here, I'm sure you can imagine how bad he was..." Peter grumbled, before looking into the seat in front of them to see both siblings fast asleep.

"Ouch, no wonder you look exhausted, which reminds me why didn't you phone over the weekend? We wanted to tell you we were going on this trip as well as you two." Susan stared at Peter eyebrow raised like the teacher from before. Peter knew this look it was not a nice look it demanded answers.

"Sorry about that I meant to find Ed on Saturday after I'd packed but I got distracted by the pack we got given describing our roles, and then on Sunday I had to help Ed pack and collect his own pack before we worked out a plan of how to play the situation, which reminds me what roles do you and Lucy have?" Peter apologised, Susan nodded understandingly before a smile curled up the edges of her mouth.

"Ahh that explains it, you really need to be more time conscious, I remember when you used to get distracted before your training sessions and Oreius would drag you out of your study by the ears lecturing you to train first then deal with the paperwork afterwards... Plus let's just say that it won't be hard for me and Lucy who's shadowing me to get into our roles... What about you two?" Peter chuckled at the memory, but rubbed his ear remembering the 'lessons' the centaur had taught them.

"You're Queens?" Peter asked brows furrowed, Susan nodded as her smile now fully formed widened showing her pearly white teeth. "Well, it seems you're teachers have just as good taste as ours" Peter smiled pulling Su into a one armed hug.

"No..." Susan turned her face towards Peter's with shock on her face. Peter just grinned, and gently ruffled her hair. "Thank the lord for that... But you know we have to keep a low profile we can't just act like the Royalty we are, people will ask questions we don't want to answer..." Susan had the stern face on again.

Peter tucked his chin on her head which she had rested on his shoulder. "I know Su I had this talk already with Ed he knows, but we'll have to keep an eye on them and keep ourselves in check I have a feeling that although this project will be fun it won't be as easy as it seems." Susan just nodded before curling into Peter's neck and her breathing became slower and deeper as she drifted off. Peter pulled her closer and lulled by the murmuring of the other students and the sounds of the coach's engine fell asleep.

"Peter? Peter... Wake up we're here." Peter woke with a start as Lucy jostled his shoulder. With bleary eyes he saw Ed and Susan chatting and pulling on coats. Outside there was sunshine as well as a large stone wall leading off into the distance.

"Ahh thanks Lu, did you guys sleep well?" Peter asked while pulling on his now dry coat, before stretching his stiff muscles.

"Yeah I finally got some proper sleep, sorry if I was a bit funny earlier Pete... although Lucy drooled on my shoulder a bit..." Ed joked, dodging a slap from Lucy who glared at him.

"Oi you two that's enough, you can beat him up later Lu but now we need to get off this coach and into the place before it starts raining again, I know you two don't mind but I prefer not looking like I've been dragged through a muddy puddle." Susan tapped them both on the heads lightly before squeezing past Peter to follow everyone else off the coach.

"Haha, You know when Her Majesty commands we have to obey, come on you know she's right... anyway we need to keep a low profile here at least for now..." Peter chuckled, pushing his younger siblings in front of him down the coach isle before doing one last check of their seats checking for forgotten belongings.

_'Susan really knows how to control those two, I guess it's from practice, I was away for large chunks of the time on campaigns so she had to look after those two until Ed was old enough to join me in battle. Well when I deemed him old enough really. I wasn't really old enough myself to fight but we had to make do with the situation at hand and that involved fighting when diplomacy broke down. Maybe that's Susan is very good at diplomacy, her gentle nature is not to fight but her temper is short at times, like at the moment so she makes parting statements before walking off so she doesn't end up screaming at people. Ahh it's good to know that Su and Lucy are here as well as the fact they are Queens. If they weren't I would feel guilty that Ed and I got a taste of our old lifestyle and they didn't. Besides it would be easier to keep a low profile this way as we can look out for each other better, it's not like we'll be together the whole time, which is the easiest time to make mistakes...'_

Peter stepped out of the coach, narrowly avoiding a large puddle. He saw his siblings with their luggage and his waiting on the edge of the large group of students. He jogged over to them just as Mr Johnson began to speak.

"Quiet now ladies and gentlemen please. Now we're here at Grovener Castle which is where we will be staying for the next 6 months. In a moment once the drawbridge is lowered we will walk up to the castle where you will change as well as be assigned to your tutors who will be guiding you in your new roles. I also wish to remind you that your behaviour must be impeccable throughout this project or you will be removed from it and will be doing private tuition with your respective teachers Mr Gooding or Miss Walers for the remainder of the project. I hope I do not have to repeat myself again on this subject after this time, you have been warned." Mr Johnson said trying to look stern but failed miserably, however the threats of private tuition with Mr Gooding and Miss Walers seemed to be very effective against the students.

While the teacher had been speaking Peter had noticed the large drawbridge which was being lowered across the overgrown moat. It was not the fastest of things which made Peter wonder how often it was used.

However luckily it was not too long after that thought that the bridge was fully lowered showing a rather dull view of some fields and trees with a large grey stone castle in the distance. Peter's lip curled up slightly as he thought of the beautiful castle of Cair Paravel on the shores of the beach, compared to the ugly grey block English castles tended to look like.

"Ugh doesn't look like much does it..." Lucy commented, her siblings laughed as it was just what they had been thinking themselves. "Oh well its better than school at any rate" and with that Lucy grabbed her bags before skipping off after the rest of the students who were walking rather quickly as it seemed the rain was just starting to come down again.

It was not long until the group and passed over the bridge and under the great stone arch and iron portcullis into the castle grounds. However they were not the same. The view which had been of sparse trees in a field with the dark grey clouds covering the sky as far as the eye could see had changed. The field was now bright, the trees and become a great forest to the north, the castle had gone as well.

The largest changes were the air itself which now tasted sweet and fresh and the sky it was a bright, familiar blue. Peter had only seen such a colour in Narnia, but that was impossible they couldn't be in Narnia. He turned expecting to see the stone wall and the drawbridge but it was not there in its place was an expanse of rolling green hills with what looked like mountains in the distance.

Peter was not the only one who had turned around. From looking everyone was feeling the same thing yet only Tom voiced what everyone was thinking

"Where the hell are we..." 

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**Hey guys sorry this is a little later than expected, I went on an impromptu holiday and haven't found any decent WiFi until now. To make up for it, it's a little longer than normal, so I hope you enjoy :)**

**Thanks Hazelsd **


	5. Chapter 5

Everybody's faces were mirrors of each other, the look of shock would almost be priceless if Peter didn't have a similar expression. He turned to his siblings who shared the same look apart from Lucy, hers was one of pure joy.

_'Trust Lu to be happy about this... although I have to admit it defiantly looks and smells better. I can't shake this feeling that were in Narnia, I'm not sure why but it looks and feels so familiar. It feels like I'm at home which I'll admit I haven't felt like since we came back through the wardrobe. Lu must be feeling it as well which is probably why she looks so happy if only I could have some proof. It's not that I don't think we could be in Narnia it's just the fact I don't want to get my hopes up too much for it all to be false and just wishful thinking. _

Peter almost jumped as he heard a few of the girls screaming and saw them rush around a body on the ground, he stared almost in disbelief he turned and raised a blonde brow at Su who just rolled her eyes at him a look of distain clear on her face. Peter chuckled at his sister behaviour, but looked at her reproachfully.

"Come on Su don't be harsh it must be hard on them, after all we're used to doing through doors and ending up in weird places... they're not" He muttered to her as they watched the crowd part as they girl stood up using two of her friends as human handrails to keep her steady. A few of the teachers were fluttering around her like hummingbirds making sure she was alright.

"I'm not being harsh Peter..." Peter gave her a look "Seriously I swear that girl faints at everything, last week a leaf blew into her face and she fainted claiming it came out of no where... I'm only surprised she didn't do it sooner..."

Peter was surprised and was about to ask her if she was sure when Lucy spoke up "It's true Peter she's known as 'Delicate Daisy' if she doesn't faint at least once a week something's wrong." Lucy chuckled patting Peter's cheek gently before turning to stare into the distance with a thoughtful expression.

Ed laughed at his siblings before a serious expression crossed his face. "Guys do you have the feeling we've been here before..." Peter stared at his brother understanding the double meaning to his words.

_'We became quite good at speaking vaguely while talking but having a very serious conversation. It started in Narnia when we visited other countries or during diplomatic negotiations, we had to have a way of speaking that meant that if anybody listened in they wouldn't get any real information out of us. We also used the Old Narnian language, but that was only used rarely as it was obvious then they were trying to hide something then. In the end we got so used to not saying what we really mean we brought it back with us to England. It helped when we wanted to talk about Narnia in public without getting weird looks, but sometimes we expected other to understand what we mean causing some confusion as well as trouble when it happened to teachers. The funniest misunderstanding was with Su, there was a dance or something and a boy asked her to dance, so she replied with her usual 'We'll see I'm a little tired at the moment' the boy thought she meant yes. When she actually meant no and the boy followed her round all night as she danced with me and Ed. In the end he almost punched Ed until Lucy pitched in saying Su had never said she would dance with him just that she'd think about it, obviously she decided she was in better company than his. Now it may not sound funny but his face was priceless, imagine a 17 yr old being told off by a 11 yr old girl who is just over half his height. I swear we were in hysterics for the rest of the evening we even re-enacted it at home. But that's off topic, it would seem that me and Lu aren't the only ones who have noticed the resemblance this place has to Narnia. If all of us feel the same way I think we may have just found our way back to Narnia, now it's more a question of where we are in Narnia and which way is the quickest route to Cair Paravel.'_

"Yes, I know what you mean Ed, but I think the question is now how to get home" Peter said simply giving his siblings meaningful looks. They all nodded with matching smiles on their faces.

A loud voice quietened the now talking crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen now if I could all have your attention please I would like to inform you that everything is under control and as soon as we know what it going on we'll let you know. For the time being we are going to walk towards the forest for some shelter out of this sun. I can assure you, that you are all safe as long as you listen and we stick together. I don't want anybody to wander off now grab your things we're leaving now." Mr Johnson's tone spoke of authority but his face was pale and looked nervous.

The mass of students just stared at him and then at the woods. "You can't be serious Sir, for all we know there could be kidnappers in there... can't we stay here then we can see if anyone's coming..." Matt said, as he sat on the floor. He was a picture of stubbornness. Peter knew that not much would move the boy now he had sat down.

"Mr Dolton, please stand up. We cannot stay here there is no food, no water and no shelter. If you want us all to die from dehydration or starvation then we can sit here and do nothing, or we can go to the forest which has shelter and find food and water. I can also assure you that nobody would want to kidnap you Mr Dolton. Hypothetically speaking even if it did happen and you were kidnapped they would give you straight back as soon as you opened your mouth... Now enough of this silliness pick up your things children and let's move before it gets dark..." Mr Johnson was no longer pale and now had a reddish tinge to his face, like he'd been sitting in the sun too long.

The students who'd started to laugh at the teachers comment shut up when Mark gave them a dark glare. Peter noted that he didn't look so confident after the teacher had just effectively negated his argument with a joke at his expense.

_'I don't know why I have this feeling but it would seem to me that Mark must have some other reason as to why he doesn't want to go into the woods. He wouldn't be that fussed by kidnappers, it's not like he's weak or anything so I wonder what it is... Oh well it's that important, I'm not even sure why I'm worrying about that gorilla anyway. I have other things to worry about like finding our way back to Narnia, which is why I'm anxious to get to that forest and then maybe we can find a Dryad who can point us in the right direction or find a clue as to where we are. Now I know it sounds bad that I don't recognise where we are, but to be perfectly honest there are lots of places in Narnia like this so we can't be expected to remember them all. Especially since we've been back in England some of the places we visited have been forgotten, names remembered but exact details not. It was hard at first as we spoke of places that did not exist here, and gained a few odd looks in the process so, the places got forgotten as we readjusted back to our lives in England... Ahh no point crying over spilt milk though, what's done is done. Which reminds me we need to work out a plan of leading the teachers to Cair, it's not like we can just wander off without them noticing. We need to lead them there and then convince whoever is in charge of our true identities, I think Oreius and Giles are probably in charge, if for some reason we were not in Cair Paravel for a long period time they would rule as stewards. Adding to the fact they taught us how to rule in the first place and were some of our most trusted advisers along with Mr Tumnus and the Beavers.' _

Peter didn't notice until the boy stood up that he'd been staring at Mark. The boy in question had stood up and dusted himself off before grabbing his stuff and barging past Peter who stumbled with the force of it.

"Bet you thought that was hilarious didn't ya? Well you'd better watch your back or you'll regret it Pevensie." Mark was obviously in a great mood today.

_'Did he really think that threat was going to work on me, especially while we're here. Pshh... watch my back eh? Well I think Markey Boy is going to be eating his words soon and if not I'll make him I think Ed will be more than willing to help. Hmm how to do it, a little power display or just beat the words out of his mouth. By the Lion that boy is getting on my nerves I wish I could beat him up but that's not exactly going to look good on me. If I have a legitimate reason like an official fight or he's a threat to the county it'd be fine but I can't exactly punish him for being annoying however much I would like to...'_

A hand grabbed his and Peter turned to see Lu pull him along dragging her luggage with the other. She turned and smiled sensing Peter was walking fast enough by himself, but she didn't let go of his hand.

"So who were you plotting to beat up then dearest brother of mine?" A mischievous smile twitched over his sister lips as Peter's eyes widened before remembering how good she was at reading his expressions.

"Ahh just a brainless gorilla who I think still doesn't know one end of a pencil from another." Peter sent her his own smirk causing her to giggle and roll her eyes.

"Who's a gorilla? That Mark kid, you know I wouldn't mind throwing a few punches if he's on the receiving end." Susan popped up from behind Peter slinging her free hand around to ruffle Lucy's hair which caused a squeal of indignance from their youngest sibling.

"Hahaha... now that I would pay to see dear sister of mine, that boy needs to be knocked down a few pegs and if a girl did it, oh so how much fun it would be..." Ed joked from in front of them as he walked backwards to face his siblings.

"Now, now Ed how could we let Su have all the fun it wouldn't be fair. I do see where you're coming from Su though, the boy does possess a certain troll like quality." Lucy's last comment sent the four siblings into hysterics, and gained a few confused looks from their fellow students.

The walk was not as long as expected but that may have been due to the constant banter the siblings kept up through the entire walk. They had become so used to filling long rides or voyages with a constant stream of jokes and conversation.

The forest had grown larger and slightly more ominous as they had walked towards the dense mass of trees. The sun which had been high in the sky was slowly sinking causing the shadows to lengthen and the forest look even darker than before. They were so close now Peter could see the individual tree trunks along the edge of the forest.

_'I hope these teachers know what they're doing, the last thing I want is for one of these students to get lost here and find something like a centaur. Aslan knows what would happen then... We want to hide our true natures as long as possible so as not to not cause any problems for ourselves. I mean seriously imagine what would happen if they knew now, for starters no one would believe us so that option isn't really possible any more I fear what will happen when they do know the truth, they will wither be scared or hate us, some may even think it's a joke again. Most probably Mark and his friends will try to hurt us through jealously of the matter that we will have to subdue or hurt them in turn which is not something I wish to do. I don't know what Mark and his group have against me especially after we came back from Narnia they have tried to make my life harder and more unpleasant. I can ignore them most of the time but when then they insult my family or become physical that's when I can't ignore them and retaliate. I know by arguing back that provokes them even more so I try not to but it is hard sometimes, he seems to know which buttons to press to make me angry. Ahh why am I worrying about him anyway it's not like he could really hurt me or my family so I just need to relax and ignore the idiot. He only wants the attention just like Rabadash so never thinks about other people just his selfish wants. That will get him in trouble someday but hopefully not here I don't want him to cause trouble in Narnia well not any that affects the country and my people...'_

Peter had been thinking for so long that he hadn't noticed the fact they had reached the edge of the forest. Ed grabbed his sleeve pulling him to a stop as the teachers motioned for the group to stop, which Peter hadn't seen.

"Now children we will look for a place to make camp and stay the night. I promise we will look to the edges of the forest well within sight of the field behind us. If anyone notices a suitable place please notify us so we can find a place to rest sooner." Ms. Jackson said her nose wrinkling as if even the idea of sleeping outside was disgusting. Peter could only wonder how the rest of the girls would react.

"Before we move off again it would help if you could gather a lot of dry wood or kindling so we can make a fire quickly without having to send individuals out into the forest alone." Mr Johnson said picking up a dead branch and some dead moss, showing the children the sort of items they should collect.

_'Well at least some one has some common sense, hopefully this should keep people occupied enough they won't be scared in this forest. A fire as well makes people feel safer as they have light heat and protection. I think Mr Johnson must have been a Boy Scout in his day or had a part in the First War, not person would usually be this calm an organised, even if they were a good actor. It makes me hope that we will find Cair Paravel even sooner than I expect we would have.'_

The group set off again, much slower this time looking about then for a large clearing to house the students. Occasionally someone would stop to pick up a branch or some kindling, piling it up into a person's or making makeshift bags out of coats and hats.

After what seemed like a long time but was probably only a few minutes a clearing was found. It was a large open space, filled with short grass. A few boulders sat on one side of the clearing. Peter could see enough smaller rocks to make a suitable edge for a fire pit.

It was quite funny how many of the students didn't care anymore they would be sleeping outside but were thankful for the fact they had a safe-ish place to spend the night for he could see the frequent yawns that plagued their classmates.

"Right now I want the wood and kindling in a pile here" Mr Johnson called indicating to a spot near the centre of the clearing. "Then I want all the girls to follow Ms. Jackson and your teachers as you will be spending the night over to the right hand side. The boys will be spending the night on the other. I wish to warn you that I will not accept any funny business at all from any of you tonight. There will be two teachers keeping watch during the night at all times so I do not want any boys in the girl's side or vice versa." Mr Johnson's glare was matched with an equally scary one from Ms. Jackson.

After all the days excitement the evening was pretty uneventful. Thankfully but fate or dumb luck the students had been told to bring a packed lunch and dinner for two days as the castle's chef wasn't supposed to arrive till the day after next. So luckily the students were able to eat, many didn't each much wanting to save their food for as long as possible.

The fire was letting off a nice golden glow which was just light enough to see each other's faces as the night drew in. The girls had set up their sleeping bags (Whether it was luck again Peter didn't know) across from the boys so they could see each other across the 'no man's land' between the boys and girls.

_'It's quite funny how after everything that's happened today the thing the teachers worry about most is the fact that the boys and girls have to be separated unless any 'funny business' occurs as Mr Johnson puts it. Ahh well I suppose people cope with stress in their own ways, it must just be their way of doing so. Seeing as they cannot control anything else at the moment they want to keep everything else that they can as normal as possible. However it does make it hard for us to talk n private, I have a feeling that we will never have enough privacy at all. It's hard enough to talk about anything whilst walking and now we cannot talk when we stop walking without being separated. Ahh well we'll just have to do what we can it's not like we can change anything at the moment... I have to wonder though, why I keep having this feeling we've been watched as soon as we entered this forest and not just by the trees or the small creatures of the forest that avoid human contact. I'm sure it's my imagination but I can't shake this feeling. Su would be able to confirm it but I can't exactly talk to her right now... Ugh I should get some sleep and not worry about this anymore it's not going to go away with me worrying about besides I'm not exactly going to have a lie in tomorrow morning, and I'll have to deal with Ed again... joy of my life...'_

Just as fatigue was starting to set in and the rest of the students were settling down themselves there was an unmistakable crack of twigs being stepped on by iron shod hooves. Peter sat bolt upright as did many of the students who had begun to stare wildly into the surrounding forest. Yet it was only Peter and his siblings who had noticed the pair of eyes glinting back at them from between the trees...

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**Hey guys, sorry it's been a while but I've been quite busy recently, I hope to get the next chapter up soon. So all I want to say really is thanks for reading and reviewing, I love all the comments you send to me, until the next chapter then :P**

**Hazelsd xx**


	6. Chapter 6

Edmund stared into the gloom, he could see the eyes of the horse glinting in the firelight.

_'Is it just my imagination or do those eyes look really familiar. I don't what it is about them but they give me a feeling that I have seen them before and know them well. I wonder if Peter or the girls feel the same thing or of it is just my imagination running wild and I'm only seeing things because I want them to be true. I don't know how Peter and Su seem so calm. Lu's been hyper since we got here but then again when isn't she? Not that I'm complaining I wouldn't want her any other way, she always seems to make the day better especially if people wake me up in the morning. Like this morning, I don't really want to act so grumpy in the morning but it's just my brain doesn't really want to cooperate at times and I need to wake up by myself so that it decides to cooperate properly. Ugh why I am thinking about that now... I need to work out what that creature is and what it wants before there's any trouble...'_

"Peter, do you think we should go take a closer look? People are going to notice soon and then Aslan knows what'll happen then... It wouldn't be hard to sneak off if we get the girls to cover for us, besides the teachers are busy looking after the students who freaked out. Also you know I can always think of something if we get caught, think of how many times did we got caught out after curfew and got into trouble?" Ed whispered to his brother a devilish smirk .

Peter turned and looked at him with a frown settled across his brow, looking older than his 13 yr old face.

"We were never in trouble because of you and your 'silver-tongue' ... fine we'll go and we're only going because I have a feeling I've seen those eyes before somewhere..." Peter whispered back, his eyes drawn back to the eyes which hadn't moved yet, it was if the creature was waiting for something.

"Kay I'll signal to the girls you check in case people are watching then we'll go before it moves." Ed said turning to the girls and motioned to them their plan.

Lucy had seen and nodded looking around at the other students and teachers to keep a look out.

"Come on then Ed lets go it looks clear and Su and Lucy are looking out for us. The quicker we are the less chance we'll be caught." Peter whispered, before stealthily standing up and crept over to the edge of the clearing.

Ed sent one last look at the other students, many still looking pale and scared. He simply walked after Peter, but from much practice he had been able to perfect walking without a sound as if he was not walking but gliding over the earth.

Ed noticed the eyes had moved as if the creature was looking at something else rather than the clearing.

_'Perfect, as long as the creature doesn't see us walking over to it the more chance we'll find out what or who it is without them making a run for it beforehand.'_

The siblings moved closer until they were a few trees away from the creature. They were so close now that Ed could see from the far off glow of fire light that the 'creature' was a horse. However it was not any old horse it was very familiar, the chestnut coat gleamed in the orange light and the small white stripe all but glowed in the darkness. It was Philip.

"Philip? It's me Edmund do you recognise me, and Peter?" Ed said his voice low and disbelieving pointing to himself and then at Peter. The horse swung its head round and stared in shock at the two boys, his brown eyes wide.

"His Majesty King Edmund... But how that's impossible... You look like him when he was younger... I'll give you that but you're not him..." The horse had taken a few steps closer to Ed.

"It is us Philip, it's a long story but we are younger again we can prove it if you want ask us something only we would know and we'll answer it" Peter said, Ed saw that he had moved closer to him so Philip could see them both.

"I don't know... Ahh fine see if you can answer these... 'What is my middle name? And what was the first thing I said to you?" Philip said with a hard look in his eyes. The horse sized up Edmund while the thought for the answers.

_'He did manage to pick some of the hardest questions possible. Luckily the answers are not hard things to forget. I still remember the day when I first met Philip, there was me thinking he was just an ordinary horse like an English horse, but no... He was Narnian and gave me a right royal telling off. I was so shocked that he answered me that I almost fell out of the saddle. It wasn't long after that he told me his middle name. We had been riding across the castle grounds and we got chatting, that was the second time I almost fell out of the saddle, I would have been in hysterics, had Philip not tried to throw me off for laughing at him...'_

"Ahh they're all too easy my dear friend, as I recall I almost fell out of the saddle on both occasions." Edmund said, seeing the horse throw up his head slightly in shock, his ears twitching round to face Edmund. "The first thing you said to me was before the Battle of Beruna and I had just called you 'horsey' so you turned around and said 'My name is Philip'." Edmund glared at his brother as he laughed.

"It would appear you are correct but plenty of people know this information so I will still need my other question answered to be sure. So my middle name please if you know it..." Philip had a hopeful look in his eyes. He was looking at Edmund more closely now, and Edmund smiled as he could tell Philip was sniffing him as well as his nostrils flared slightly.

"Haha now that was not long after our Coronation, we were riding through the castle grounds and that's when you told me, I nearly fell off because you tried to throw me off because I was laughing at the way you said your name. Now if I recall correctly your full name is Philip Hinny How... Is that enough proof now my dear old friend?" Edmund said with a small smile upon his face.

Philip had frozen in shock his large brown eyes were wide. Suddenly the horse sprang forward and used his head to pull Edmund into a hug. Edmund in turn had thrown his arms around his horse and smelt the familiar smell of apples and horse, Philip had.

"I thought it was too good to be true your Majesty, I have been waiting for you to return for so long and you're finally here." Philip pulled back enough to look at the brothers again. "But you look so different, younger like you used to when I first met you both..."

"Ahh now that's a long story Philip, we don't quite understand it ourselves, it's good to see you again Philip" Edmund turned to see his brother's warm smile.

"It is good to see you too Your Majesty, are your sisters here as well? You have been missed dearly I am glad that you are safe and seem in good spirits?" Philip said moving closer to Edmund before gently nuzzling his shoulder. Edmund absently curled his hand around the horse's face to scratch behind his ear gently.

"Yes the girls are here as well and are in good health they're with the other students in the clearing... But by the Lions mane what are we going to about them now..." Peter said the frown reappearing across his forehead.

"Other students?" Edmund noted Philips ears had pulled back slightly in his confusion.

"Yes we were on a school trip, walked through an arch and ended up here around lunchtime. Of course they freaked out and we spent the rest of the day calming them down and walking over here... How far are we from Cair Paravel Philip?" Peter answered, pacing a little as he spoke.

Edmund saw the horse think for a moment before speaking "Hmmm... maybe half a day's ride to the East... Are these other people going to cause trouble My Lord? I'm sure we can remove them if they will cause a threat."

"No that won't be necessary Philip thank you for the offer they are more of an inconvenience than a problem, and we'll deal with them later. Could you send a message to Oreius or Giles to inform them of our return and send an escort to us here. I fear that if we continue to travel the way the teachers suggest it will be many days till we reach Cair Paravel again." Peter had stopped pacing and had his 'serious' face on, it had been a while since Edmund had seen that face.

"Of course My Lord if would be my pleasure, but how shall we know where to find you? If what you say is true about these 'teachers' then it may take days to find you, especially if you continue into the forest..." Philip said, his tone souring at the mention of their so called teachers.

"Ahh don't worry about that dear friend, I'm sure I can think of a plausible excuse to remain here for another day. These people are more gullible than you can possibly believe, they won't even notice that I'm lying. Although I will need a little help from our dear sisters and you dear brother to make it believable." A smirk grew across Edmund's face, as he spoke seeing a similar mischievous glint in Philip's eyes.

"Of course I will help silver-tongue, I would rather not spend another day here in the woods when we could be back at Cair Paravel with our friends. What did you have in mind?" Peter said curiously, cocking his head at Edmund.

"Ahh now that would be telling now wouldn't it... Besides I have a feeling if we stay any longer people will notice our disappearance from the camp. Philip how soon can you leave with the message?" Edmund teased before turning serious again. Now was a delicate time and it would not do to be caught out of the camp with a talking horse.

"Right away your Majesty, I was on my way back to the castle anyway. What message would you like me to relay to the General?" Philip said as he straightened up his muscles tensing as if he was going to bolt.

"Just inform him of our return and the proof you have of our identities despite our appearance. If possible I would like an escort sent out to us so that the rest of our party will join us without much complaint. However I insist on our identities not being revealed just yet as our party is not aware of our status here and I fear that it would cause many problems in the future." Peter said, his voice Edmund noticed had gone back to his 'King' voice that people listened to and respected.

"Of course Your Majesty, I shall inform the escort that digression is absolutely necessary, I shall also be present to keep them in line if necessary Mr Lord. If that is all I shall leave presently, I know the General will be anxious to hear this news." Philip said, bowing to Edmund and then Peter.

"That will be all for now, be swift and safe my friend. I shall eagerly await your return." Edmund said patting the horse quickly on the rump. They watched the horse incline his head at them again before moving off into the darkness.

"Right now that's sorted we need to get back, its sounding awfully quiet over by the camp and its making me nervous..." Peter said looking back behind them at the glow of the fire.

Edmund noticed Peter was right, no longer could they hear the murmuring of the students and the crack of twigs breaking underfoot.

"Follow me and stick to the shadows, we need to see what's going on before we go back to our beds. We may have already been found out so caution is necessary..." Edmund whispered, seeing his brother nod in agreement he crept back to the camp using the shadows of the trees to hide in as they moved.

As they neared the edge of the clearing they could see the large group of students huddled around the fire. A teacher, Edmund presumed was telling the students something a story perhaps. He noticed some students were yawning and others had already fallen asleep on neighbour's shoulders.

"By the Lion's mane how will we get back now it's not like we can sneak into our beds, it would be pretty obvious if we went over there now... Do you have any ideas?" Peter whispered from behind Edmund, Peter's warm breath tickled his neck gently.

"Hmm well we could wait until they're finished and move back to their original spots, but I don't know how long that will take or even if they will. So I think our only option is to create a distraction and move in during the chaos hopefully unnoticed..." Edmund turned his head slightly so he could see Peter from the corner of his eye.

"I guess we'll have to do that then because I have no other ideas that are better than that... now what shall we do? I doubt making random noises will help at all..." Peter muttered. A smirk had already formed on Edmund's face.

"Ahh don't worry about that Peter I have a plan, so let the fun begin..." 

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_10 minutes earlier..._

It was quiet in the makeshift camp, Lucy was just about dosing off when there was an unmistakable crack of twigs being stepped on by iron shod hooves. She sat up quickly now wide awake. Susan sat up next to her and they scanned the nearby forest for the source of the noise.

A pair of eyes glinted back of them. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that her brothers and Su were the only other people to have noticed the eyes. She could also see Peter and Edmund having a whispered conversation, no doubt about whether they should check out what made the noise.

A moment later she could see Edmund making the signal which meant they were going to check it out. "Su?" Lucy nudged her sister gently before tilting her head towards her brothers.

"What is it Lu?" Susan said just as quietly, looking towards where Lucy was nodding. "Oh... I guess we'll have to make up some story if anyone notices then... Typical anything strange happens and they have to investigate it..." She shook her head but had a small smile upon her face.

"Yep now what are we going to do about that lot, if we don't do something they'll notice the boys are gone and what or whoever is in the forest..." Lucy said glancing at the spot where the boys had disappeared into the forest, before turning around to the whirling mass of students who had begun to swarm like bees around the fire and the teachers.

"Aslan knows Lu, but I know what you mean Lu, but actually it's better to leave them a little while, with them moving about like this it'll be harder for them to notice the boys are missing thinking they're somewhere with everyone else." Susan said quietly before rolling her eyes at something. Lucy sent her a questioning look before she answered with a slight chuckle "I would appear that Daisy's fainted again..."

Lucy just laughed at her sister's comment, as she watched the students run around like headless chickens for a while.

_'Seriously we're in a forest obviously there's going to be strange noises, it's not like we'd be the only things here even if we were in England... it is quite funny though, to be honest I thought Daisy would have fainted earlier than she did. Not that I'd tell Su that she'd probably start laughing hysterically and that would attract too much attention, I'll have to remember to tell her later. Ugh I wish the boys waited a little longer so we could go with them. I hate waiting here and not know what's going on. It was like this every time they went off to fight and me and Su weren't there. We'd end up sitting together at Cair looking out of the window every 5 minutes or not sleeping much wanting to read any message that came as soon as it was delivered. Now I know they can handle themselves but I can't help but worry, I genuinely don't know what I would do without them and I can't stand not knowing their safe. I know Su is the same but I suppose it's the same for them every time we go out or they leave us alone not knowing what's happening to us either...'_

"Lucy... snap out of it we need to distract them and soon..." Susan poked her hard in the ribs causing her to jump. Lucy glared at her sister which only earned her a roll of the eyes.

"Sorry I was thinking... Now how can we gather everyone together but not make it obvious people are missing?" Lucy said a small frown crossed her forehead as she scanned the scene in front of her. She noticed a particular teacher and a smile crossed her face "Su is that Miss Harvers?"

"Where? To the left of the fire?" Lucy nodded "I think so why?" Susan looked at her sister curiously.

"What is Miss Harvers favourite thing to do besides give out tonnes of homework..." A smirk not unlike Edmund's had crossed Lucy's face.

"Ummm... tell stories... Oh you genius Lu now all we have to do is convince her to tell a story" Susan bit her lip before her eyes widened "I've got it, we all know that she loves Jackie right?" Lucy nodded not sure where Susan was going with this "Well all we have to do it get Jackie to ask her, you know how easy she is to agree to anything, then everyone will be called around to listen to 'calm them down' and bingo everyone, sits round the fire without the teachers noticing anyone's missing." Susan was smiling as she searched for Jackie in the crowd in front of them.

"Now that's not a bad idea... right now are you going to ask Jackie or shall I?" Lucy said eyeing up the older girl.

"Let me, it'll be easier if I do it she knows who I am... Wait here for a moment while I talk to her. Although I may be a while, once she starts talking she'll never stop. I think she needs some sort of gag or a cure for verbal diarrhoea..." Lucy chuckled at her usually gentle sister's behaviour watching as she walked over to the girl.

It wasn't long before their plan had been put into action and they were situated around the fire with the other students listening to some random story the teacher had supposedly written herself.

_'I swear this woman has no idea how to write a book. A book is supposed to interest you from the very beginning or else you don't bother reading it not matter how good the ending is. There is one positive to this though, and that is the fact this so called story is so boring that people are starting to fall asleep again. Before long they will send up back to our 'beds' so the boys can sneak back in more easily. I wonder what's taking them so long, I know something bad hasn't happened because I don't have the feeling that something is going on. That must mean that everything is fine and they're debating on how to sneak back or they have gotten lost... I presume it's the former not the latter because I didn't think their sense of direction was that bad especially with the fire here like a small beacon. I guess I should stop worrying but this story doesn't distract me at all from what is actually happening. I think this teacher only writes stories to bore people to death. I can't think of anyone who would actually enjoy this crap... By the lion's mane she's still describing how the grass was green... no wonder half of us are nearly asleep...'_

Lucy had to stifle a laugh as she saw Susan begin to yawn. She was not paying attention the 'story' so she looked into the surrounding forest to see if she could see the boys. It was then she caught sight of the white shirt hanging from a tree branch and Edmund's devilish smirk before he slunk back into the shadows. Turning to Susan she saw that Su had an amused smile on her face, it was clear she had also seen their brother, and it was even more obvious the boys were going to have some fun and liven up this otherwise boring evening...

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**Hey guys, here's the next chapter don't you just love Philip :) There should be some more drama in the next chapter especially with what the boys have planned, I'll try and put it up as soon as I can. Thanks for all the great reviews, and I should point out that this is set between the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian as some of you were asking.**

**Till the next chapter Hazelsd xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

It was well known to the Pevensie siblings how devious their brother Edmund could be. However it appeared to Peter that he had outdone himself this time.

_'It's amazing how quickly he can do things when he wants to. Usually one of us would have had to coax him into working or bribe him in some way. Then again it would be quite scary if he worked this fast all the time. It's funny to think that all it takes for him to put a little effort in school activities is an elaborate distraction. As much as it pains me I have to admit it is an amazing idea, but I would never say that to his face. His ego is large enough at times no need to add to it. Besides I think he knows already, I swear he can read minds at times, but he insists it's just he can read my face very well.'_

"Peter, stop thinking and start moving or we'll get caught and the whole point of this is so that we don't get caught is it not…?" Edmund's voice came from his left.

_'Ahh that's why I never tell him, because he always knows how to ruin it with an overly sarcastic comment like now… He is right though unfortunately… Where did I have to go again?'_

Peter opened his mouth to ask Edmund but before a sound could leave his lips Edmund whispered again.

"You need to go round the clearing so you can see the shirt directly in front of you. After that wait on the edge of the tree line so I can see you, when you see my signal do the rest of the plan, if you can remember it, or do you need me to explain it to you again…" Even though Peter couldn't see his brother he could sense the smirk, he frowned knowing his brother would get the idea and began to move off around the clearing.

It took a little longer than Peter had expected, mainly because he was trying to be quiet and not alert the clearings occupants of his actions. He crept towards the tree line the shirt wasn't immediately visible despite it conflicting with the shadows created by the flickering firelight.

Peter could see Susan and Lucy who had almost identical smiles on their faces, they obviously knew something was about to happen, but they didn't know what. He could see Lucy look at the shirt every now and again knowing it was going to play a part in this rouse. She was really too clever for her own good sometimes.

Peter's eye was taken away from his sister when he was Edmund's signal. Peter didn't know what it was supposed to be but it was so random it could only be Edmund.

_'His signals tend to change every time he uses them but they are definitely unmistakeable like now. I mean who could miss the violently green boxers being waved around…_ _Where he found those I will never know and to be honest I don't really want to… Ahh that's enough about the stupid boxers I need to do my part of the plan…'_

**Susan's Pov:**

Lucy nudged me gently, her green eyes were bright and a small mischievous smile stretched across her lips. I was wondering what she wanted until she looked pointedly at the woods behind my head. I turned slowly taking in all of the surrounding trees, trying to make it look like I was just bored.

'_Well to be honest I don't really have to act, Miss Harvers was doing a perfect job of boring all of us to sleep, I think some people are already asleep… hang on a minute what is that…' _I stopped turning when something moving caught my eye. Hanging from a branch was a shirt.

"Please tell me this is not what I think it is…" I murmured to Lucy, whose smile only grew as I spoke. I groaned quietly in response until Lucy replied.

"I know what you mean but it'll shut up the old hag won't it" I stared at her for a moment before an identical smile stretched across my own lips.

"By the Lion I hope they hurry up, or I will make my own bow and shoot her myself…" Lucy only chuckled quietly at my comment.

_'Ahhh this story isn't so bad now I know it'll be over soon… Ugh on the other hand it's worse now that I know the boys are going to do something, probably as a distraction so nobody notices they've been missing... I hope they don't take too long because I think one of their teachers is going to make a head count soon, now everyone has calmed down somewhat… wait a minute what the hell is Ed doing now…'_

As I was thinking a pair of extremely green pair of boxers began to wave around on the end of a stick. I knew it had to be one of Ed's signals, I looked round quickly just to make sure nobody else had seen the offending pair of underwear… seriously who would ever wear those or at least even contemplate bringing them on a school trip was a good idea…

A loud cracking sound, came from behind me making everyone jump and whip their heads around to see what had made the noise. The students who had been drifting off or were asleep had woken up and were looking around wildly to see what had woken them up.

The whole camp was silent apart from the crackling of the fire. After a while everyone settled down as no other noises sounded from the woods. Then the sound of something growling drifted out from the trees...

"What the hell are they doing?" Lucy whispered to me, she looked as confused as I felt.

"I wish I knew. I can only presume it's one of Edmund's harebrained schemes that seem to work out in the end and not a real animal in the forest." I whispered back, looking round at the pale faced students seated around the fire.

"What was that...?" One of the boys said quietly, voicing the thoughts of most of the people in the clearing.

"Just an animal Mr Rodgers, forests do tend to have animals in them." One of the boy's teachers said, I think his name was Mr Johnson.

"But what if it attacks us..." The same boy said. This of course caused some of the girls to scream and me to roll my eyes.

"It won't attack us, there's too many of us here to attack, besides it sounds like it has already gone." Mr. Johnson said. He sounded tired, as if this was a common occurrence with this boy.

Everyone looked relieved at this comment until a bush rustled from near where I had last seen Edmund's signal. It was quite comical to watch everyone's head snap round to see what had made the noise. Their pale faces stood out stark in the darkness. Some had grabbed each other and were shaking with fear and anticipation of what was making the noise.

I was struggling to contain my laughter. I didn't dare look at Lucy for fear of losing my poker face and letting out my laughter. The bush rustled again this time more violently as if whatever was in it was getting closer.

Suddenly the 'creature' appeared. Hopping straight out into the clearing was a large grey rabbit dragging a once white shirt and the lurid boxer shorts. It froze seeing us in the clearing before whipping round back into the darkness of the forest.

It was then that I couldn't contain my laughter anymore. It appeared that Lucy couldn't either as both of us sat there laughing our heads off at the shocked faces of the group. Our laughter was joined by two deeper laughs making us both turn to see the boys sitting not too far away from us.

Edmund had a large smirk plastered across his face, and was looking rather smug.

'_I hate to admit it but it was one of his best pranks yet considering his limited resources, not that I'd tell him though his head's big enough at the best of times. Peter looks like he is of the same opinion, I just hope no one noticed they have just appeared, because I don't think Ed can lie his way out of this mess...'_

"Well that was rather anti-climatic" Peter said, this snapped the tension in the clearing that had slowly been building. A few small laughs could be heard and smiles appeared on a few faces.

"Hang on a minute..." A boy yelped, jumping up sharply. I froze, did he know or see something... "That rabbit has my favourite boxers..." He glared angrily at the bush the rabbit had disappeared into.

This outburst caused me to burst out laughing again, most people joined me. I recognised this by now, he was a boy from Ed's class. Not the nicest person, which is probably why his boxers were chosen. Then again it could just be he had the most recognisable ones...

"Well Mr Williams I believe you will have to without them for now. Now I think it is high time we all went to bed. Unless you are still scared the rabbit will attack you Mr Rodgers?" Mr Johnson said with an eyebrow raised. I think I was slowly beginning to like this man. When neither boy spoke he continued "Alright then, hurry up and into bed we'll be leaving early tomorrow, to find a town unless you wish to spend another night here?"

The students were uncharacteristically quiet as they moved to their beds. I caught Peter's eye and stood up slowly grabbing Lucy's sleeve before she moved to her bed.

"What's up Su?" Lucy said, yawning widely.

"They boy's want to talk to us, probably about what's made the noise in the first place." I said quietly, stifling my own yawn.

"Oh, I almost forgot about that. I wonder what it was they look rather happy and it can't just be the rabbit that caused it." Lucy said as we walked slowly over to our sleeping bags meeting the boys halfway.

"So what did you think of the rabbit then?" Ed said with a smirk, I simply raised an eyebrow and shook my head.

Peter cuffed him gently over the head before saying "I guess you're wondering what or should I say who we found in the forest..."

Lucy's eyes widened "Who? You mean it was someone who recognised us?"

"Yes it was. Well I had to convince him first before he believed me but he understood in the end." Edmund said his voice was soft, not wanting our fellow classmates to overhear.

"Well... Who was it then? Don't be vague Ed." I snapped quietly not wanting to be kept in the dark any longer.

"It was Philip." Ed said as a smile stretched across his face. Seeing mine and Lucy's looks of confusion he continued "My horse, as in the talking chestnut creature who I've known since the battle of Beruna. Ring any bells?" He said still smiling.

"By the Lion does that mean were actually in Narnia then?" Lucy said in wonder, her eyes lighting up with joy.

"Yes Lu we're really home." Peter said with a soft smile "We sent a message with Philip to tell Oreius or Giles where we are. It would seem we're only half a day's ride to the East of Cair Paravel. I thought it would be quicker to send Philip to tell them of our return that ourselves, because who knows where these teachers will 'lead' us next" Peter's tone turned to one of disdain when he mentioned the teachers orienteering skills.

"Thank Aslan for that, I don't think I would survive another day following these cretins" I sneered earning a laugh from my siblings.

Our conversation was cut short then as we reached our sleeping bags and the teachers began to patrol around to make sure we actually went to sleep.

_'I think this has to be one of the longest days I've had for a long time. At least this time it's ended well, I wasn't joking when I said I couldn't follow these teachers anymore. I can only imagine how Peter feels now he was always the leader now he's following incompetent people. Then again I suppose they're not that bad it's just they're just in a situation they don't know how to handle. Ahh... well at least I'm safe knowing that we're in Narnia and our people are coming to get us. I just wonder how everyone will react to our true identities. I suppose many will think it's a joke or us trying to get attention. I guess there's no problem worrying about it now, there are just some things out of our control. Hmm... well I'm going to sleep now I have a feeling nobody will want to linger here for very long once the sun comes up.'_

The morning sun was harsh against my eyelids. I opened them slowly letting them adjust listening to the sounds of quiet chattering of birds and the students. My back felt rather stiff so I stretched letting my muscles ease the tension which had built up over night.

"Morning Su... Have you been up long?" A groggy voice came from beside me. I turned to see my sleepy sister sit up and rub her face as she did most mornings. She was not a morning person some days, although compared to Ed she's an angel.

"Morning Lu... No I haven't I just got up myself, ugh I hope nobody tries to wake up Ed if he's not already awake." I yawned running my fingers through my hair in a feeble attempt to rid it of knots.

"Ha ha oh come on Su he's not that bad just a little grumpy." Lucy said standing up and stretching.

"Hmpf... That's because you can deal with him when he's like that the rest of us have to deal with him being a 'little grumpy'. Even Oreius won't go near him when he's like that and that's saying something..." I grumbled turning to where the boys had slept to see if they were awake. "Looks like it's too late to worry if he's awake or not"

"I'll go take him off Peter's hands and speak to him then and everything will be fine." Lucy said simply before skipping over to where a tired looking Peter sat next to a grumbling Edmund.

I stood up and followed her more slowly seeing Peter's relief at Lucy's appearance.

"By Aslan's mane Lucy talk to him before I hit him please..." Peter pleaded with their youngest sibling.

"I don't know what the problem is. It's not like he'll actually do anything unless someone pisses him off." Lucy said before sitting next to Ed and whispering to him.

"I think we really need to learn how to do that..." I said taking Peter's hand and giving it a small squeeze.

"I know what you mean, I don't know where it comes from he was obnoxious before but now it seems to be concentrated to the mornings when he hasn't had enough sleep." Peter sighed, rubbing his other hand over his face before turning to the rest of the clearing. "Looks like we should think about packing up soon it would seem everyone else it starting to get up and I don't think Mr Johnson wanted to stay here for too long this morning."

"Ha ha I think you're right, I just hope nobody wakes him when we aren't around and he does something stupid." I said with a wry smile "Well I'll start packing mine and Lucy's stuff then send Lucy over when he's cured." I joked making Peter chuckle quietly.

"Will do, unless you need any of my help with anything?" Peter said cocking his head to one side.

"I think I'll survive without any help, besides you're just trying to get out of packing aren't you...?" I said rolling my eyes at him.

"Maybe, maybe not..." he said teasingly. I shoved him playfully before turning back to my sleeping bag.

It was not long after I started when Lucy returned who was muttering something about Peter being lazy and could do his own packing. It took a while to sort all of our stuff out, there seemed to be more every time I turned my back. However it was done eventually and our two bags sat next to the boy's who had been able to pack everything without our help.

I was sitting and thinking in a small patch of sun letting it warm my face when a figure stood in front of me shadowing my face.

"Yes, do you want something?" I said with an eyebrow raised, I did not like people ruining my thinking time.

"Yes I do want something. I want you to stay away from Peter." The girl said her blonde locks were draped over her shoulders like a cape. Her friends stood on either side of her nodding like one of those bobble head dogs.

"You want me to stay away from Peter? Who are you to tell me what to do?" I said frowning what did this girl want with my brother?

"My name is Karen Carmichael and I am Peter's girlfriend." She said smugly.

I snorted in a un-lady like manor "You're Peter's girlfriend? First time I've heard of him having a girlfriend and of you as a matter of fact." Her face was turning an ugly puce colour, this was more amusing than I thought it was going to be.

"Hmpf... well obviously you're not that close to him, but in any case stay away from him and don't flirt with him like you were this morning it makes you look desperate." She snapped at me.

"Me? Flirting and looking desperate that's rich coming from you..." I said standing up now so I could look her directly in the eye.

"Yeah... Well... just stay away from him or you'll regret it... who are you anyway?" She said looking a little nervous now.

"Me well its interesting you should ask since I'm his sister. Susan Pevensie." I smirked seeing her face pale and jaw drop. "You might want to close your mouth before flies get in there..." I said before turning away.

Karen grabbed my arm before I could move more than a few steps "Don't lie to me I know you're just making that up so I leave you alone..." She growled. I was in shock.

_'How stupid was this girl?' _

It was just then that Peter came over with a frown etched across his face. "Is everything alright dear sister of mine?" Karen's hand then dropped my arm like it was on fire her face even paler now.

"No everything's fine dear brother it's just Karen may have hit her head a little she seems to think you're her boyfriend..." I said with a smirk.

Peter's eyes widened in horror as my word sunk in. "Ummm... t-that was just a li-little joke between me and your sister I don't think it's true..." Karen stuttered.

"But that wasn't what you were saying earlier when you asked me to 'stay away or I'd regret it'" I said my smirk was widening all the time with the look on Karen's face. Peter had caught on to what had been going on.

"Well I think I know what's going on now and sorry Karen was it? But stay away from me because it seems like you're a little crazy..." Peter said with a freaked out look on his face.

"S-sorry..." Karen stuttered glaring at me hatefully before running off, her friends following her like dogs follow their master.

I started laughing as Peter gave me a disapproving look. "Come on Su that wasn't exactly nice even Ed wasn't that bad..."

"Oh I know Peter but she wasn't exactly the nicest person either..." Peter simply sighed but before he could reply was interrupted by one of the teachers calling out.

"If everyone could be quiet and listen, now we are going to eat a quick breakfast before setting off, so if you all grab something to eat and we'll leave shortly." The teacher said loudly before picking up their own breakfast.

"Oooh food... I wonder what I have left in my bag" Ed laughed as he ran over to the bags before digging out a slightly squashed sandwich which he ate rather quickly.

"Ed, please don't eat like a pig or you'll start to look like one..." Lucy joked poking him in the stomach. She had followed him at a slower pace and took the sandwich I was offering her.

"Hey I do too much exercise to look like a pig..."Edmund said indignantly before poking Lucy back.

Our short breakfast continued in a similar fashion with jokes and insults thrown between us. Once everyone had eaten we walked back out of the forest to the field we had entered yesterday.

"Right now everyone we are going to walk towards the east as it looks as though there is an ocean or sea in the distance. Hopefully we should find a village or something near to it, where we can find out where we are and some proper shelter." Ms Jackson said simply before walking off. Her tone had left no room for argument so all we could do was follow her. The rest of the teachers were herding us like sheep after her retreating back.

"Well looks as though these teachers aren't as stupid as we thought... At least they're going in the right direction." Peter said which caused us to chuckle quietly as we walked with larger strides as if that would help speed up time so we could reach Cair Paravel sooner... Reach our Home sooner...

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**Hey guys,**

**Sorry it's been so long since I've updated but I've been really busy with school work so haven't had as much time to write.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and I hope it won't be too long till the next update.**

**Hazelsd**


	8. Chapter 8

**Peter's POV**

The sun was high in the sky before the group stopped again. They had been making good progress considering some member of their group. Peter stared into the distance. The turquoise strip had been growing ever larger as they walked.

"Peter, how are we going to explain all of this...?" Lucy muttered to me, I saw Ed and Su turn their head slightly to listen to my reply.

"I have no idea... However I think it would be best to meet whoever is coming separately and explain the situation to them. Do you have any other ideas?" I said just as quietly.

"Not really... That's better than any idea I came up with. Besides I think it'll be the easiest option especially if we don't want too much attention or to create any problems." Susan whispered back, looking stealthily at the other students.

"Well that's one problem dealt with now how do we deal with those two...?" Lucy said nodding slightly towards Matt and Karen.

"What do you mean Luce?" Edmund said with a small frown etched onto his face.

"Well I don't know about you but they look a little too cosy to be just friends. Also they've been shooting us dirty looks all day, we'll have to be careful of them if we want to sneak off later." She said.

We all looked at the pair, who were indeed whispering to each other and shooting us furtive glances every now and again.

"I wonder what they are up to, I know Mark doesn't like you Peter and I don't think Karen likes Susan after this morning. So it probably won't be something good, Lu's right I think we need to keep an eye on them for now." Ed said with a small smirk probably remembering the morning's incident with the blonde girl.

"Ugh... We have enough problems as it is anyway we don't need two petty children to add to them." Susan's lip curled showing her distaste of the pair.

"It's not anything we can't handle besides you said it yourself Su, they're just petty children who don't know any better." I said with a tone of finality that stopped Susan replying to my words.

"Is there a problem Mr Pevensie?" Mr Gooding said loudly, making me and Ed turn and look at the teacher who looked a little annoyed.

"No sir..." I said with a frown on my face.

"Then would you please be quiet and pay attention or do you think you need not listen to this information?" Mr Gooding continued, now turning a little red too. The rest of the students laughed quietly at his words.

I hadn't even noticed the teacher had been speaking, but before he could continue a familiar voice shouted out.

"Of course that's what he thinks he's St. Peter the Perfect. He was supposedly 'King' in this project I think the powers gone to his head already sir..." Matt had an evil smirk stretched across his face. He turned to high five Jack who had a similar smirk.

"That's enough out of you Mr Dolton, at least he manages to tie his shoes in the morning without help..." Mr Johnson said dryly causing the other students to laugh again but louder this time as Matt went as red as a tomato.

"Now if everyone is listening now..." Mr Johnson challenged. When he was met with silence he continued. "We will be moving on soon and want everyone to keep as one group. Now as Mr Dolton has reminded us I wish for us to walk in order of your roles. This is still a school trip so I wish to continue with the educational purpose of this trip. Which means Mr Pevensie needs to come up to the front along with his shadow along with the 'Queens'. Then will be the Generals and State officials and so on and so forth. If you are confused as to where you need to stand please ask one of the teachers."

The look on Matt's face was priceless; it was obvious that his plan to humiliate me had backfired horribly. But maybe that was just to do with the fact he would be at the back of the line because his role was that of a farm worker.

"But sir that's…" He began to say.

"Enough Mr Dolton, I don't want to hear any more of your pathetic whinging, if you wanted a better role you should have paid more attention in my lessons." Mr Johnson cut him off before he could say anymore. "Now let's move off I think we've sat here long enough for certain to catch their breath back." He looked meaningfully at a couple of students including Matt and Karen.

The students stood as one, around half of them flocked around the teachers wanting to know where to walk. I picked mine and Lu's bags before moving to the front of the group, earning and annoyed sigh from Lucy and a few chuckles from Susan until Ed picked up her bags as well and walked with me.

"Seriously you know we can carry are own bags we're not invalids you know…" Susan grumbled, trying and failing to snatch her bag back from Edmund.

"We know just being gentlemen Su, besides we need to build up some stamina and muscle before we train with Oreius again, or we'll die…" I said jokingly earning laughs from the girls and a groan from Edmund.

"I had just about managed to forget how hard his training sessions were and now you've bought it all back Peter…" Ed moaned, but he had a small smile on his face nonetheless.

"Sorry dear brother but we have to face reality here… besides now what are we going to do, it's not like we can sneak off now we're at the front of the group." I said with a matching smile, which was replaced by a frown.

"Well did you say you would meet them anywhere in particular?" Lucy said quietly.

"No… we didn't because we didn't know where the teachers were going to take us…" I said sighing.

"Well you said it was half a day's ride from the woods right?" Lucy paused before speaking as a teacher turned around to tell of a boy who was pulling some girls hair. "Well that would make the woods we slept in the Owlwoods, wouldn't it? We've been walking, what 3 hours now so we should be near the village of Haphen by now… I think we should stop there it'll be easy to sneak away there. Besides the teachers wanted to find a village to stop at so it would be perfect to get away from and meet Philip and whoever he's bought with him.

It was at times like these, when I remembered how clever my youngest sister was. It seemed Ed had forgotten as well from the look on his face.

"That's brilliant you know Lu..." I said with a look of amazement on my face, Ed had a similar expression.

"Well I'm not just a pretty face you know..." She said with a cheeky smile causing Susan to laugh at mine and Ed's expense.

"Well I'm glad some people can laugh in a situation like this Miss Pevensie." A voice came from in front of us. It was Ms Jackson she had slowed down slightly to walk near us. "Now I understand that your sister Lucy is your shadow for this project, and am I to understand the 'Kings' are your two brothers?" She enquired.

"Yes Miss, these are my brothers Peter and Edmund" Susan replied politely gesturing to each of us in turn.

"Ahh wonderful at least you know each other so making decisions together will be easy for you." The teacher replied with a relieved face. We all looked at each other and smiled at her comment as she continued. "Now as we would like to keep this trip as education as possible despite the current circumstances we would like your input into some of the decisions we have to make as teachers providing they are sensible."

Her comment shocked us slightly but I managed to hide it well before answering her. "Thank you Miss Jackson. I hope we will be of some help to you through this... umm... interesting situation. We have a suggestion now if that would help?" I think I put too much of my 'King' voice into those sentences from the stunned look on her face.

"Why thank you Mr Pevensie, I can see why Mr Johnson put your name up for the position as 'King'..." Her voice was still a little shaky but when she recovered she called Mr Johnson over to listen to my suggestion.

"What suggestion did you have Mr Pevensie?" Mr Johnson enquired.

"Well Sir it was not my suggestion but my sister Lucy's..." I replied. The teachers looked at each other then stared at Susan expectantly. She smiled and pointed to our youngest sibling who had a slightly irritated expression.

"Ahh... Miss Pevensie what is your idea then?" Mr Johnson's tone was a little patronising which only made Lucy's expression more evident.

"Well Sir..." Lucy's tone was harsh until Ed nudged her gently in the ribs. "My thought is that this area we are walking through looks too well kept, as if it is grazed regularly. Meaning we are close to a village or farm. I think that we shouldn't just walk straight towards the coast however walk a little to the south as that is the more logical position for a village to be. Another thing I noticed is the path parallel to us over there." Her tone was softer but had an edge to it that made the teachers straighten up and really look at Lucy and the direction she was pointing.

"By George I think she has a point. However Miss, I cannot see this path you speak of..." Mr Johnson said looking intently towards the area Lucy had been pointing.

"It's not that obvious but if you look closely you can see the grass is trodden down in a strip over there more so than anywhere. It seems to curve away down the slope towards the woods to the right." Edmund said standing next to Ms Jackson and following the path with his finger towards the small wooded area.

"Well, well would you look at that... I wouldn't be surprised if we had walked past that path and never seen it at all without your help. So it would seem that we need to change course now then. Thank you Miss Pevensie I can see why your sister chose you to help her, it was obviously not just the fact you are her sister." Ms Jackson said giving us a grateful smile along with Mr Johnson before they both sped up to catch up the other teachers and turned to walk down the slope to meet the path.

"Well done Lu, I hadn't seen that until you pointed it out, hopefully we can get to the village soon now, although I hope us being too helpful has caused unwanted attention from either the teachers or the other students." Susan said, smiling as she sighed.

"Peter!" A shout came from behind causing me to turn and see Tom waving at me.

"Excuse me a moment..." I said to the girls and Ed who nodded before listening to an anecdote of Ed's involving one of his teachers, glue and a lot of free time. "What's up mate?" I said slowing down to walk next to Tom.

"Nothing mate just we haven't talked properly since we left on this stupid trip..." Tom said with a smile but I could see the uncertainty in his eyes. "Do you think we are actually in another world... Or is this just a massive trick played on us by the teachers to see how we can cope in unknown situations?" He said looking very serious it was not a look that suited the normally joyful face.

"Who knows Tom, who knows... To be honest it could be either. The teachers are acting really normal trying to make it 'educational' but it could just be that they have no clue so are falling back on what they know..." I lied smoothly so as not to frighten him.

"True, true... I thought we we're walking to the coast, but now we're walking into another wood... where the hell are we going..." He said looking annoyed.

"Well we're actually walking on a path at the moment which I hope leads to a village or farm. My sister noticed it and they wanted us to help make decisions since they wanted us to learn something still for some ungodly reason." Tom chuckled at my last comment.

"Haha, well thank God for that I thought we'd be walking forever before we found civilisation. Besides I'm starting to run out of food...Now mentioning your sister she's pretty hot..." Tom said with relief, but his last comment caused me to stare at him.

I cuffed him over the head saying "Dude stay away from my sister, you may be my best friend but you can't touch her okay..." I glared at him, and he paled slightly.

"Ow... Fine, I'll stay away I'm only mentioning t because some of the other guys have been eyeing her up you might want to watch out for her in case one of them does something." He said rubbing his head before giving me a serious look.

"What the hell... thanks mate for telling me do you mind if I just go and warn her to look out for trouble? Because I know I'm not always gonna be there to help her." I said looking at him questioningly.

"Sure mate we can catch up later when we stop to eat or something. I'll see what the guys are saying and I'll tell them to back off. Not sure how many will listen to me though..." He said patting my arm reassuringly.

"Sure I'll talk to you later and thanks mate for that..." I said looking at him gratefully. He just nodded shooing me away turning towards a girl walking next to him.

I turned and starting to feel the weight of the bags I jogged to catch up to my siblings.

_'I swear if anybody touches my sisters I will make sure they never see the light of day again... well maybe that's a little harsh but I will make sure they learn a lesson they will never forget. I'm sure Ed will want to join in as well... He still has his short temper when the occasion arises and that would defiantly be one of those times...'_

I had just caught up with them as we entered the cool and shady woods.

"Su!" I called, making her jump slightly before turning to me.

"By the Lion... Peter don't do that to me... what do you want?" She looked a little angry but I knew it wouldn't last long, it never did.

"Sorry Su, but Tom just told me some bad news and I had to warn you..." I said with a grave face.

"What's wrong Peter? Do they suspect something or are they planning anything...?" Lucy's worried voice piped up. Ed looked just as worried waiting expectantly for my answer.

"Well it's not that bad but Su I want you to take care, apparently some of the guys have been eyeing you up and if they are who I think they are then I want you to be careful as they aren't the sort who will take no for an answer nicely." I said looking at her dead in the eye.

She shivered in disgust before replying. "Thanks for warning me Peter... I promise I'll be careful. I'll try not to be left alone for now without one of you with me. I just wish they'd leave me alone they sound just as bad as Rabadash..." She said seriously before giving us a small smile at the end in reassurance.

"Good, well at least we know something might happen so we can be prepared for it and not be surprised if anyone does anything. We'll just have to be careful and try not to draw any more attention to us for a little while..." Ed said quietly, glancing at the chatting students behind us.

"Well I guess we shouldn't talk secretly like this for now since that is probably causing some attention in itself..." Lucy said simply moving a little to the left spreading us out from the clump we had formed.

The walk through the woods was quite short the path only taking us across the edge of the woods instead of all the way through it. As we emerged into the sunlight again the village of Haphen was a little ways in front of us sitting in the little valley caused by the rolling green hills.

"Right now everybody listen up!" Miss Walers called out. The group stopped a couple who weren't paying attention walked into those in front of them meaning it took a little while for everyone to settle down.

"As you can see we have found a village and I want everyone to stay here while Miss Walers comes with me to see if we can get some information from the villagers so we can find somewhere to stay and get some supplies. Now I don't want any funny business or you will be staying with a teacher for the rest of the trip..." His tone was menacing and caused a few groans from a few students, mostly male.

I saw Ed and Su share a look. They obviously had the same idea as me, that this was the perfect opportunity to slip back into the woods and walk the long way into the woods.

Many of the students had sat down already taking the opportunity to relax instead of walking for hours on end.

"Hey wanna dump the bags here and go when an opportunity presents itself?" Susan said, looking at the retreating backs of Mr Johnson and Miss Walers.

"Yeah it's not like we can do much else at this point..." I said with a sigh, dropping the bags and sitting down using the bags as a pillow.

It was quite peaceful sitting on the edge of the woods listening to the birds singing, and basking in the warm sunlight.

Suddenly shouts started up, causing me to jerk up and snap my head towards the commotion. It appeared as though some of the boys had gotten bored and started a fight. Many of the other students had crowded round to watch and the teachers were trying to break up the fighting pair.

"Well I'm not sure if that's a coincidence or cosmic intervention..." Edmund joked standing up and moving over to the tree line.

I chuckled, following him as did the girls. It was suspiciously easy to get away from the group, despite the fact we stopped constantly to check nobody had seen us leaving, especially Matt or Karen, no need to give them extra ammunition.

Without any bags or the other students we made quick progress through the woods reaching the other side of the village quickly. It seemed as though we were just in time as we saw a familiar chestnut horse leading another familiar group of creature towards the village.

"By the Lion's mane that was good timing..." Ed said disbelievingly before running out towards the group and letting off a piercing whistle.

The horse in question turned and cantered over to Edmund meeting him halfway across the field.

* * *

**Edmund's POV**

"Philip I see you made it then..." I said hugging the horse briefly.

"Yes your Majesty, I didn't expect to see you so soon though... not that I'm not glad for this early meeting..." Philip backtracked slightly seeing my sad expression that changed into a cheeky smile causing him to snort in annoyance and head butt me gently.

"Sorry Philip couldn't resist..." I said chuckling, earning another snort from Philip.

"Hello Philip it's good to see you, even if my brother is being an idiot!" Lucy had smacked me in the back of the head before giving the horse another hug.

"Haha, it's a pleasure to see you too Your Majesties, and I'm used to his antics by now I can get my own back easily..." The horse laughed giving Susan a hug as well.

"Your Majesties...?" A familiar voice called out.

"Oreius!" We all shouted running over to hug the shocked centaur who hugged us equally hard.

"It's good to see you safe and sound Your Majesties I trust you are in good health?" Oreius said as we broke apart. We replied in the affirmative, turning to the other familiar faces and greeting them with the same enthusiasm.

"Well I guess you want to know what happened. Am I right?" Peter asked, making the group of Narnians nod as one. "Well you're going to want to get comfortable because it's rather a long story. It all started when we went hunting that White Stag..."

It took a good half an hour or so to explain the situation to the group and the predicament we were in at the moment considering the teachers.

"I have a suggestion Your Majesties..." One of our officers Kanell offered. When I nodded for him to continue he said "Well you said you were on a 'school trip' where you have to pretend you are people in a castle type setting. Well why don't you just pretend at Cair Paravel? We could convince 'your teachers' that we will teach their students the ways of the castle and you could be yourselves and it would only look like you were pretending to them and no questions would be asked. Of course this is only a suggestion..."

"You know that isn't a half bad idea Kanell... It's better than anything I can think of... The only problem would be to explain your appearances to the other students without them freaking out..." Peter said with a thoughtful expression.

"Let me worry about that Your Majesty now I believe you need to return before you are missed am I correct?" Oreius said standing up and flicking his tail.

"By the Lion I forgot about that... We need to move quickly I fear we have been gone too long already..." Susan said brushing dirt off her skirt.

"We'll see you soon then your Majesties, Laken will accompany you." A large hawk took flight at the general's words and swooped around us.

It was rather a quick dash back though the woods and soon enough we were standing on the edge of the tree line peering at the group.

It seemed as though the teachers had only recently broken up the fight and were now telling off the students involved. More than a few had bloody noses and one even had an impressive black eye coming on.

"Well looks like we haven't been missed the only issue now it to get back in without anyone seeing us..." I said looking at them.

"I think I can help here..."Laken cawed, before swooping out of the forest and flying low over some of the students causing them to screech and duck out of the way. It was a perfect momentary diversion that gave us enough time to get to our bags and sit down before anybody sat back up after Laken had flown past.

It took another painful 20 minutes of anxious waiting before the image of Oreius appeared with an ashen looking pair of teachers walking back up the small slope.

It took another minute before anyone else realised the teachers weren't alone and the figure wasn't exactly human.

"Hello children this is Mr Oreius and he has kindly offered to let us stay at his castle and continue our project here until we can return home." Mr Johnson's voice was unsteady yet he didn't look scared as he probably felt.

That's when all hell broke loose...

"What the hell is that..." Karen screamed, Daisy and several other girls fainted... until the centaur spoke.

"My name is Oreius and I am a centaur. I am the General of the Narnian Army which is the country you are currently in, are there any other questions...?" Oreius was a picture of calm and was slightly mocking causing even more of the students to faint, including to my secret joy Matt and Jack included...

* * *

**Hey guys I promised the next chapter would be up sooner than the last, so here it is :P**

**I just wanted to say thanks again for reading and all the great reviews you've left, they really mean a lot to me, if you notice any spelling mistakes please tell me and I'll edit them as soon as I can :) **

**I know it's taken a while but the real action should start fairly soon especially now Oreius on the scene :P**

**The next few chapters 'should' be up soon as some of it was pre-written but won't promise anything, because it depends on how much work I have to do...**

**Hazelsd xxx **


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